The last category is reserved
for mic mods from the big three* -- Michael Joly of Oktavamod, Jim
Williams of Audio Upgrades and Mark Fouxman at
ribbonmic_at_comcast_dot_net (known as Marik on audio
forums). Both Joly and Williams have websites, but you have to contact
Fouxman via email or track him down at a forum. Fouxman and Joly do
mods of the MXL 603/604 mics, and they both sound quite good for the
$300 cost (more or less, including the cost of the original mic). The
two approaches are much different, though. Joly modifies the capsule
vents on the MXL and tunes it to sound like a KM 184. Fouxman is going
for the sound of a KM 84, so his version includes a coupled
transformer. Both also make mods of the Oktava MK-012 in the $100
range, not including the mic. Frankly, I was more impressed with the
MXL models, but if you like that big midrange sound you'll like the
MK-012, modded or not.
Williams, Fouxman and Joly only have one mod in common, the mod of the
MCA SP-1. All three sound much better than the original, and if you
already own one it would definitely be worth your while to spend the
extra $100 or so on the mod. That said, I wouldn't rush out and buy one
just to get it modded. I would, however, consider doing that with the
Williams modification of the AKG C 460 B. You can find a used AKG C 460
B with a CK-61 cardioid capsule on eBay for about $300. Add the $150
mod, and you've got a microphone that many say rivals Schoeps for less
than $500.
The AKG C 460 B was my favorite mod overall followed by Fouxman's MXL
mod, his MK-012 mod and Joly's MXL mod.
*(Some others modify mics -- Klaus Heyne, Oliver Archut, Tony Merrill
-- but to the best of my knowledge the three mentioned above are the
only ones modifying a lot of different SD mics.)
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